tantalum wrote:I'm not sure Kassian is a hit or miss prospect. I see a lot of "he sometimes doesn't try/work ethic is bad" from Sabre fans right now. Things is a first year pro does not go into the AHL score at 40ish goal and PPG pace out of the gate and force the parent club to get him into game in the NHL by being lazy. He is certainly raw but he is a hell of a prospect having a GREAT first pro season.

Doesn't try / work ethic is a description of most of the Sabres team this season. I don't know much about Kassian, but playing for a crap team with no direction in your first year is far removed from the situation Cody has started in.

May this trade speak to the organization's faith in Schroeder? I heard Gillis a month ago say he's improved to the point where he might get a sniff at some point this year and he may have just opened the door slightly at least for a small look..hmm?

As for Kassian, I like what we're trying to do here but I can't help but be reminded of trade deadline of 96 when Pittsburgh felt they had enough expendable skilled players to sacrifice a promising young one for their most pressing need of a big nasty winger. The good news is Kassian already outscored Stojanov's NHL career total...phew!

Gotta say I'm shocked that CoHo was dealt period, but even more shocked that it didn't result in bona-fide NHL'ers coming our way.

Meh, I'm reserving comment until I get a chance to watch the newcomers. IMO, Cody wasn't going to be the be-all-end-all player to a deep run this year anyway, and I'm psyched to see what the Nucks development engine can do with a beast like Kassian.

And one last observation: Gragnani shoots LEFT. Fuuuuuuuuuuuck.

I do know that BUF got a beauty, and I wish CoHo well on our expansion cousins. God knows those fuckers need help over there.

I'm shocked and not happy at all to see Cody leaving. He's already proven himself a capable NHL'r and has scored some incredibly timely goals. He has great one ice vision and surprised me this year with his lethal shot. I really think he's a surefire top 6 centre and will likely develop into a first line centre. Just my thoughts.

My hunch is that he is the best player in this deal in which case I am not happy with the deal. I never like to surrender the best player for depth. At the same time however I am not familiar at all with the Buffalo players so I suppose only time will tell how this trade pans out. It's incredibly bold of Gillis to trade his key prospect so he must really see something in these players.

If Pierre Maguire, one of the biggest Hodgson fans alive, likes the trade, then I'm good with it.

I think people are seriously over-estimating how Hodgson will fare on a far, far worse team. He's a 25-goal player here, but what is he on the Sabres? Not playing behind Ross trophy/Hart trophy/Selke winners? Not taking away from his upside, but he isn't there yet, and going to a team like Buffalo will set his development back.

So what are the bottom 6 now? Sedin-Sedin-Burrows, Booth-Kesler-Higgins, Raymond-Pahlsson-Kassian/Lappy, Hansen-Malhotra-Kassian/Lappy?

Actually I wouldn't be surprised to see Kassian go down for a few weeks once Bitz is healthy.

WRT the 2nd PP unit, remember last year (when it was the best in the league) Manny was the 2nd PP center. Since the 1st unit isn't exactly firing on all cylinders I wouldn't be surprised to see Kesler move back, possibly replaced by Kassian?

That's a damn-formidable 4th line now, I gotta think Kesler's PK time is going down drastically with Pahlsson, and I'm very curious about the impact on his game.

ESQ wrote:If Pierre Maguire, one of the biggest Hodgson fans alive, likes the trade, then I'm good with it.I think people are seriously over-estimating how Hodgson will fare on a far, far worse team. He's a 25-goal player here, but what is he on the Sabres? Not playing behind Ross trophy/Hart trophy/Selke winners? Not taking away from his upside, but he isn't there yet, and going to a team like Buffalo will set his development back.

The difference is instead of playing behind top six forwards here, he could be playing with top six forwards there (no offense to Hansen and Higgins). Some skilled linemates plus increased responsibility and icetime can't hurt at all.

The thing I will miss the most is Cody's ability and potential on the PP. He was already very good with the 40 seconds he got and aside from the decent numbers he put up, it was the poise, puck control, shot and vision I really notice..all what make for an excellent PP forward. While Booth, Burrows, Higgins, Raymond, etc. are all decent in their own right, they lack the overall package Cody has. He was only going to get better and I fear there's now going to be a massive void on the 2nd unit. Not to mention the fact he seems to get up for and chip in big goals in big games.

So while it's great we may have strengthened some areas in preparation for the playoffs, we also weakened some pretty key areas as well.